100
by elphaba reincarnated
Summary: An adaptation of the Wicked100 challege. Fiyeraba and Gloq. NOT drabbles.
1. 001 Beginnings

Okay... I realize that I've neglected to post anything in forever and a decade, but I got an idea recently... I'm not sure how this is going to turn out. (Most likely it'll end up being ditched.-.-) HOWEVER, I do have a few chapters written out... so, the Idea: A Wicked100 story. Each of the prompts is a chapter, not a drabble. The challenging part is not switching the orders of the prompts... Anyway, enjoy.

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001. Beginnings**

The first day at Shiz… Elphaba Thropp sat in her first class of the day: Life Sciences. She was early. Very early. Almost an hour early, but she didn't care. She was thrilled to finally meet Dr. Dillamond, the only Animal professor at Shiz. She'd heard great things about him and his Animal Rights campaign.

A few minutes later, he arrived. He wore a deep burgundy cloak that provided him with an air of dominance the moment he walked through the door. He looked quite serious and not one to joke around with. His yellow eyes were eerily hypnotizing since they were so wild and untamed and, well, Animal-like.

"D-Dr. Dillamond?" Elphaba called softly.

He looked up, clearly surprised that anyone would be in class so early, let alone anyone _green_.

"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Elphaba Thropp. I've heard a lot about you. I'm really excited to be in this class."

His features brightened. He no longer looked stiff, but genuinely friendly.

"Ah, Miss Thropp! Welcome to Shiz. I read your entrance essay. _Very_ impressive." He complimented.

"It was nothing…" She dismissed modestly.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. You took my theory of relating Animals and humans and brought a whole new light to it. I never thought to look at such old science and apply it to my theory… Do you really believe that the relationship of Animals and humans can be found in this tiny "building block of life" that was said to be seen by old scientists?" He asked.

"I'm not positive… but it seems like those early scientists knew what they were talking about. Had they not been lost with their research and equipment in that fire, we might know for sure today." She explained. "If we could find a way to replicate their experiments—"

"—Then we could see these building blocks for ourselves!" Dr. Dillamond cried. "Miss Thropp—"

"Please, Elphaba" She insisted.

"Miss Elphaba, then. Do you know what this means? If we can see these building blocks and prove that the ones from the Animals are the same as the ones from humans, the Animal Banns can't be enforced. Animals will be humans and humans will be Animals! Goodness… if we can succeed… ha! I want you to help me with my research, if you'd like to." He babbled happily, but then hushed his voice. "But we musn't tell anyone about this. It's too controversial. There are already people that don't want me teaching at this school. You understand, don't you?" He winked.

Elphaba nodded, then squinted. Just past Dr. Dillamond's head, she saw some movement. She could see a tall, lean figure leaning against the doorframe. He noticed that he caught her eye and approached them. As he came closer, she could see shining blue flecks upon his tan skin. _How _-her brain searched for an adjective-_ eye-catching…_

"Dr. Dillamond?" He asked in rich voice. "Could I talk to you in private for a minute?" He eyed Elphaba nervously.

"Of course. Just one moment." He told the boy. The student nodded and stepped off politely. "Now, if there's any time you feel like doing any more research on Animals, go to my office. I hardly ever use it, except for storing papers and books. I have some reports in the desk, I believe." He informed her before turning his attention back to the boy. "Master Tiggular, correct?" Dr. Dillamond led him out of Elphaba's earshot. She took her seat and watched as they exchanged ideas, wondering what they were talking about. Then, students began filing in clumps at a time, locating the 'best' seats at the back of the classroom. Soon, there were only a few seats left. _Strange how they're the ones surrounding me_, Elphaba mused. The last of the students stumbled in, including Avaric who Elphaba thought was an 'acute pain-in-the-ass'. He smirked at her and sat just a seat away. _Lucky me…_

"Hey, Fiyero! Get your ass in a chair!" He called to the boy who was talking to Dillamond. He gestured to the one between himself and Elphaba. Fiyero nodded his way, mumbled something to Dr. Dillamond, and sat down. He glanced for a moment at Elphaba.

"Don't worry. You won't get rabies unless you're bitten." Avaric assured him. He chuckled to himself. Fiyero on the other hand just stared at him blankly.

"I don't get it." He whispered to him.

Avaric groaned. "Nevermind. If you can't see that you're sitting next to Oz's biggest lizard, you're not worth an explanation."

Fiyero started laughing hard. He turned to Elphaba with tears in his eyes. "Did you hear what he said?" He asked between laughs.

Elphaba glared at him. "Yes." She said icily. "I did."

He stopped laughing. He didn't understand what he did to deserve that tone. Wasn't it funny that Avaric just called himself a rabid lizard? He did have a few reptilian features, like the shape of his eyes and his serrated teeth.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked her.

"Oh, I don't know…" Her words were dripping with sarcasm. "What the hell do you think?"

"God, you try to be nice and talk to a person and this is what you get." Fiyero exclaimed getting frustrated.

"Nice my ass."

"You know, you really need an attitude adjustment." Fiyero retorted.

Elphaba scowled. "I don't need advice from someone who associates with the likes of_ him_." She tossed her head in Avaric's direction.

"Don't drag me into this, you little witch!"

"Yeah, what'd he do?" Fiyero defended him.

"Don't bother with her, Fiyero. Like I said, she's just an oversized rabid lizard." he sneered. Fiyero's eyes widened in realization. _Shit… he was talking about _her_! She probably thinks that I'm a jerk for laughing…_

Elphaba opened her mouth to talk back, but was cut off by the starting bell and Dr. Dillamond.

"Good morning, class. I'm Dr. Dillamond, Professor in Life Sciences. To begin, I'd like to offer all of you a friendly welcome to Shiz University…"

Elphaba shot the two boys a death glare that they couldn't even begin to challenge. Beginning the first class of the year and she'd already made a new enemy. Oh, aren't beginning's wonderful?

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Great? Terrible? Iffy? Review!

-e.r.


	2. 002 Middles

Okay... it's time for some... shorter chapters. A reminder to those who see 'Wicked100' and think 'yay, i don't have to read these in a particular order to understand'... this time you're wrong. Moving on...

Disclaimer: Only mine on opposite day. And even then I have to share it with you and the rest of the wonderful world of wicked fans. (throws hands into the air Not that I'm complaining!)

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002. Middles **

A few days later, Elphaba sat in the same class next to the same people. She did more than her best to ignore them.

Not halfway through the lesson, two burly guards and the headmistress entered the room. One of the officers addressed the professor.

"Dr. D. Dillamond, we have a warrant for your arrest. Come peacefully and we won't have to harm you."

"Madame Morrible, what is the meaning of this?" Dr. Dillamond cried.

She had, quite literally, a fishy look about her. "I can't imagine, Professor, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. They have authorized orders." She said over-dramatically.

"What are the terms?" Elphaba called out from her seat.

But the guards were already hauling Dr. Dillamond forcefully out the door.

"You won't get away with this. The Animals Rights Activists will rebel and chaos will erupt in the Emerald City. Remember, class, the government of Oz isn't as wonderful as it's made out to be." He warned, looking straight at Elphaba …or was he looking at Fiyero? It was hard to tell. "But don't worry about me. Just keep up with your _studies_." He emphasized. Elphaba bowed her head.

"I feel great regretulation that you all had to see that." The Headmistress stated. "Class dismissed. You will have class tomorrow, though."

The room rippled with noise and Elphaba gathered her things silently. She allowed herself to collapse under a tree in the courtyard. So much for working with the acclaimed Dr. Dillamond…

"Hey."

She jumped in surprise. She turned her head to find Fiyero leaning against the tree.

"What do _you _want?"

"I wanted to apologize." He said. "I thought that Avaric was referring to himself as an oversized lizard. It wasn't 'til he pointed it at you directly that I knew who he was talking about." He explained.

"Hm." She said dismissively, staring into space.

"And… I think that your idea to find the link between Animals and humans is really interesting."

Elphaba's head shot up. "What?"

"It's… interesting?" He said slowly, as not to anger her. She shrugged.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Fiyero glanced at his watch and swore.

"I have to go meet someone… I see you around." He waved and rushed off.

Elphaba wasn't sure what to make of him. Just in class, he seemed like another Avaric: shallow and stupid, but just now, he was courteous and intelligent. He didn't even seem to notice that she was green. Before today, she had two categories into which she separated people by impression: shallow and deep. But Fiyero didn't seem to fit anywhere. He was just stuck in the middle.

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I'd like to thank Bombalurinasara for the first review and CrystalClear444 and Erikssecretlover for the others. You're awesome, rock on.

Also... I still have a slightly pathetic obsession with reviews... so... indulge me, please?

e.r.


	3. 003 Ends

I tried to fix it... really, I did! Well, here is another short, not-so-relevant chapter. Urgh... I need help word/ structure-wise... Even my English teacher told me that I need to use more complex sentences... She also says I need to speak more, but I think that my saying 1-20 words per 52 minute class period is pretty damn good, especially compared to my other classes.

Ahem... beside the point.

Enjoy. (P.S, the only reason I'm posting these so close together is because I feel like I cheated you out of a good lengthed chapter. I normally won't do this. I just so happened to have a few more chapters handy.)

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**003. Ends**

"Ugh. It figures I'd have to room with the most insufferable monstrosity in Oz." Glinda complained.

"Call it luck." Elphaba called from her bed, her nose still in a thick, old book. Glinda huffed.

"Well, at least _I_ have friends," she shot at her, "In fact, I'm going out to meet them now. I'll be having fun while you… _read_." She stuck her nose in the air and proceeded out the door.

_Finally, silence._

Elphaba stared intently at the picture in her book. It showed a pattern of blurry dots. They were supposed to be the 'building blocks' that the deceased scientist theorized. But how they got to see them, Elphaba didn't quite know.

"Miss Glinda!," called a male voice through the door,"do you mind if we come in?"

He didn't even wait for an answer. He just opened the door to find Elphaba jack-knifed into herself peering over the top of her book with one eyebrow raised.

"Oh, Avaric. How wonderful to see you again," she greeted him with mock sweetness, then let her tone turn sour, "now get out."

He ignored her, and in followed an embarrassed-looking Fiyero.

"Glinda!," Avaric called again.

"She's not here."

"Hey, if I wanted to hear anything out of you, I'd ask," he snapped, turning on her.

"She's not here, Av, let it go." Fiyero tugged hard on Avaric's sleeve.

"Fine." He began to leave, sparing a moment to glare at Elphaba, but Fiyero lingered.

"I'll meet up with you later," Fiyero told him as he walked out the door. Once Avaric was gone, he closed the door.

"I'm reading, you know," Elphaba told him. She didn't bother looking up from her book.

"I know," he answered, "I…want to help you."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm perfectly literate," she rolled her eyes at him, knowing perfectly well that he wasn't referring to helping her read, "and _Avaric_ is waiting for you. He might get pissy if you keep him waiting for too long. We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?"

"Why should I care?," he wondered, "and why are you always so mean? I haven't done anything to deserve this treatment."

"It's for the future. You'll deserve it eventually, and I just want to get ahead on my Shit List," she dismissed.

Fiyero furrowed his brow in confusion. "Fine. Maybe you were the wrong person to come to for this project."

"What project?"

"I guess you'll never know 'til you try being nice." He retorted. He slid out the door and that was the end of it.

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Thanks to WickedJelly and Bombalurinasara for reviewing, especially to WickedJelly for giving me a grammar lesson. Much appreciated. Unfortunately,a) I'm not sure whether I fixed things or made them worse ( I don't respond well to instructions of any kind) and b) I have the memory span of a dead fish and will probably forget to edit the rest of my chapters, as hard as I try to remember, then fail to remember what it is I'm trying to fix at all... c) Grammar and I have never been on friendly terms. We get into verbal fights constantly and, for some strange reason, grammar always wins. It IS appreciated though. I switched English classes in the middle of the year and almost completely missed out on the grammar unit. shrug 

e.r

R+R, anyone?


	4. 004 Insides

Another little filler-like thing. But don't worry! I have what I think is a good-lengthed chapter in about... 7 chapters, I think? Maybe earlier. I don't _quite_ remember. My idea of a 'good-lengthed' chapter is... well, look at Forgotten Prophecy (which sadly _has_ been forgotten... by me. -.-) and average out the words per chapter. It's a pretty big number, I think.

Sadly, I still don't own Wicked.

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004. Insides**

Elphaba snuck into Dr. Dillamond's old office. It was well past one in the morning and the guards who were supposed to be on duty were nowhere to be seen. She closed the door quietly behind her and drew the curtains shut. Then, she produced a lantern from her cloak. She murmured a few words and a small flame appeared inside of it. She looked around. There were bookshelves on every wall and it seemed like every space was put to good use. One had to use the rolling ladder to reach half of the books. She guessed that there were close to eight hundred volumes in there. But now wasn't the time to drool over books, she reminded herself.

She made her way to the professor's desk and began searching through it for any papers on his research. She grabbed the few folders that were there, placed them into her bag, and turned back to the books. She climbed swiftly up the rolling ladder and peered at the titles. _Animal Legends_ , _An Anthology of Animals_ , _Animals and the Great Flood_ , _Lurline and the Animals_ , _Dining with Cows_ , _A Raccoon's Tail_… But nothing jumped out at her. Still, she kept searching until she found an old, leather-bound book with folded papers sticking out of it at all angles shoved behind a row of books. It had no title on it. She took it off the shelf, dusted it off, and sneezed, nearly falling off of the ladder. Startled, she slowly lowered herself back onto solid ground with the book and lantern in hand.

As she opened the cover, she heard a noise from just outside the door. She froze for a moment then bolted into action. She shoved the book into her bag and made for the window. She hid behind the thick, red velvet curtains just in time to hear the door creak open. She peered through the crack in the curtains to see a figure moving blindly through the dark room, cursing as he tripped over chairs. The intruder found the desk and rummaged through it to find it empty except for a few pens. He swore again. At this point, Elphaba was struggling with the latch on the window. Elphaba heard the man whisper 'yes' under his breath and heard a match light.

_Shit,_ she thought. Finally the latch clicked, but a bit too loudly. She heard the intruder freeze and she scrambled through the window landing not-so-softly on the ground just below. She heard the man dash to the window and look out, but she didn't see him. She didn't look back as she sprinted back to her dorm room.

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Hmm...

e.r.

Review? Maybe, possibly, yes?


	5. 005 Outsides

Okay. So...welcome to chapter 5... Enjoy!

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005. Outsides **

She returned to her dorm room breathless from running. She tried to close the door softly as not to wake her room mate, but it turned out she was already sitting on her bed waiting.

"So," Glinda said.

Elphaba jumped.

"Where were you just now?" Glinda asked her.

"Out," she replied, still trying to regain her breath, "What's it to you?"

Glinda furrowed her brow. "Maybe I was worried. No need to be so hostile."

Elphaba guffawed. "You wouldn't worry about me if you saw someone push me off of Mount Runcible."

"Maybe you're right," Glinda said vaguely. ",but that's not the point. Who were you meeting?"

"What?"

"You left at one in the morning and didn't get back until almost three in the morning, it's Friday night, and you're out of breath and sweaty. What am I supposed to think?" Glinda argued.

Elphaba's mouth dropped open. "Surely you don't think _I_ would degrade myself by doing _that,_" she spat.

"Then what were you doing?" Glinda pressed on.

"It's none of your concern," Elphaba snapped.

"Then I'm going to assume that you were doing what I thought you were doing," Glinda stuck her nose in the air, "and I hope you were smart enough to use protection. It'd be a shame if you had to leave because you were with child."

"Glinda! I was not off screwing some guy!" Elphaba yelled, but not so loud as to wake anyone, "If you must know, I was doing some research. That's all."

Glinda took in the information and pouted. "Aww… that's a boring story. I think you should just stick with what I said."

Elphaba rolled her eyes and grabbed her nightclothes to go to the bathroom and change for bed. As she emerged from the bathroom, there was a light tapping on the door. Glinda was asleep already, so Elphaba answered it.

"Fiyero? What the hell are _you_ doing here?" she hissed.

He shook his head and sighed. "You forgot something." He smirked as he held up the lantern that Elphaba had brought to Dr. Dillamond's office.

"Is this some sort of a joke, waking me up in the wee hours of the morning?" she asked him without missing a beat, "That's not mine." She was sure that at least half of the campus had lanterns like that.

"Oh. Alright. Well, could you give this to-" he turned the lantern upside-down and read "- 'E. Thropp' when you see her? Thanks, that'd be great." He said sarcastically.

She grabbed the lantern. "Alright then. You know I was there. Why were you there so early?" She interrogated.

"Uh…" Fiyero struggled to find an excuse. He was so excited to rub it in her face that he'd caught her that he'd forgotten to find a way of explaining why _he_ was there.

"Mhmm. That's what I thought. Speechless." She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the lantern. You're welcome to come back once you find the words to tell me why you were in Dr. Dillamond's office. Otherwise, I need sleep." She moved to close the door on him.

"To help the Animals!" He exclaimed suddenly, reaching out to stop the door from closing. Elphaba stopped the door just as it was about to hit his arm.

"You expect me to believe that? Why the hell would _you_, a shallow, self-absorbed prince, be interested in anyone's well-being?"

Fiyero squared his jaw. "I'm not shallow and I'm not as stupid as you think."

"Seeing as you hang out with Avaric, that's _really_ hard to believe."

"I don't even like Avaric! He's just the only one that'll talk to me, so I tolerate it," he protested. "Listen, I'm not here to listen to you judge me by appearance. I wanted to talk to you about the research thing."

"The research thing?" Elphaba repeated, slightly amused.

"You know what I mean."

"Fine, I know what you mean. What about it?"

"I want to help. I can read stuff, get supplies or books… anything."

Elphaba pondered his proposal for a moment. "How about this: You do your research, I'll do mine, and we'll pick one day to meet up per week to share our findings?"

"Sounds good to me," Fiyero complied.

"Wonderful. Now if you don't mind, it's three-something in the morning. I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, Fiyero."

"G'night."

Elphaba closed the door after him. She sighed loudly. Who knew that in a half hour her perceptions of two people could be so dramatically changed. Glinda acknowledged her existence and Fiyero turned out to be… well, he wasn't the ass that Elphaba had thought him to be. Maybe it is true what they say. You can't judge someone from the outside.

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Uh oh...

Review?

e.r.

p.s. I realize that there are errors. I scanned through quickly and fixed some, but I'm really too wound up to get everything.

--RENT tonight! squeak


	6. 006 Hours

Uh-kay..., I'm feeling kind caz Rent was friggin' awesome, so have another chapter and a virtual tray of cookies. 

Bombalurinasara: Yes, technically Glinda should still be Galinda, but, in this story, Glinda doesn't even know Dr. Dillamond and isn't friends with Elphie at the point where he's taken away and doesn't have a reason to change her name. And she still needs to be Glinda the Good... mostly because I think Galinda the Good sounds a bit funny in a giggly _pink_ sort of way. lol

AlloftheAbove: Yeahh... I realize now that this _is_ a bit of an undertaking. I'm terrified that I'll ditch it part way through and hide in a corner for a while like I did with my other story...bites lip & looks around nervously. (To the people who might have been looking forward to me continuing said story: ...Please don't kill me. I'll _try_ to go back to it. Just tell me whether I should in a review or message or something.)

CrystalClear444: lol. My quietness isn't necessarily good. It creeps people out. Apparently silence makes people uneasy. shrug But they have to learn to deal, right: )

I'll stop rambling now...

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006. Hours **

A week later, Fiyero met Elphaba in a small café off-campus. He'd gone out of his way to gather as much information on the Animals as he could. He was determined to impress Elphaba and show her that he was NOT stupid._ And that's the ONLY reason_, he told himself. B_ecause I'm _not_ stupid and she needs to know that. And I'm not shallow either!_

He beat Elphaba to the café by twenty minutes. When she finally arrived, she looked flustered. As she sat down, she let out a relieved sigh.

"Sorry I'm late." She muttered. Fiyero gave her a confused look.

"Girls are supposed to have chaperones when they leave the campus," she explained, "and Ama Clutch, my and Glinda's caretaker -mostly Glinda's- is a bit hard to ditch when Glinda decides to sit around the dorm room and mope about something or other." She saw Fiyero's amused look. "I'm only kidding. She's not entirely unbearable now, Glinda. Only when she's around her… friends."

"So, aren't you going to get into trouble…?"

"No one is going to notice that I'm gone," she insisted. "Besides, I think that if boys don't need chaperones, girls don't either. Call it a silent protest. Anyway, here's my research." She dropped a notebook on the table.

"And here's mine." Fiyero pulled a folder and a book with marked pages out of his bag. Elphaba looked at the cover of the book.

"Friedrich and Butler. They were the scientists who robbed the graves of humans and Animals to compare internal body parts, weren't they?" she inquired.

"Yeah. They said that there weren't many differences at all other than in size and sometimes placement. It's a start…"

"It's a good start. I—," she was interrupted by a waiter.

"Good afternoon. Would you like to place your orders?" The waiter looked uneasy to be stuck between such outwardly unique people and acted as if he couldn't decide which of the two he could look at without ogling at him or her. He finally focused his eyes on his small notepad.

"Tea," Elphaba said.

"I'll have the same," Fiyero replied. "Could we also have an order of fruit tarts?"

The waiter nodded.

"And I'll take the check," Fiyero told him. Elphaba tried to protest, but the waiter had already rushed away.

"That wasn't necessary," Elphaba pointed out, "but thank you."

Fiyero smiled. "Let's just call it an apology for being an ass on the first day."

They spent their time poring over each other's notes, asking questions, debating what the authors meant in their writing. They had their orders refilled numerous times.

"What do you think happened to Dr. Dillamond?" Elphaba asked finally. She'd been keeping the question to herself for quite some time.

"If I were to guess, I'd say that he was taken to the Wizard so that he could decide what punishment Dr. Dillamond would get. The worst case scenario is that he was taken to that huge prison complex… I can't think of the name."

"The Southstairs," Elphaba filled in. Fiyero caught sadness flash across her features, but only for a moment before she reorganized her face to be blank.

"Why—," Fiyero caught himself. He'd almost asked her why she felt the need to cover up her feelings, but that seemed like too personal a question.

"Why what?"

"Nevermind."

Elphaba shrugged and yawned. She glanced at the wall clock at the back of the café and gasped.

"I've got to go." She said urgently. "We've been here for four hours. Someone's going to notice that I'm gone if I don't get back now." She gathered her things quickly.

"Next week then?" Fiyero asked.

"Next week," She confirmed, and she rushed out the door.

Fiyero sat back in his chair and glanced around. Outside the window, clouds were rolling in quickly and weary businessmen were now crowding inside to grab a bite to eat. Slowly, he arranged his things and placed them in his bag on the floor. While hunched over, he noticed a black mass under Elphaba's chair. In her haste, she'd forgotten her cloak. He picked it up, slung his bag over his shoulder and headed back to campus.

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Okay...I just realized that I forgot to credit my friend (who insists that she remain anonymous) who allowed me to use the idea of the 'building blocks" and Fiyero and Elphaba working together for the Animals. She will probably contribute other ideas in the future. But you should all tell her that she's stupid for keeping her own writing secret. Cuz she's pretty good... At least, _I_ think so... I'd post her stuff, but she'd kill me with the closest thing available if I tried to... And I've grown rather attached to being alive... 

By the way, if you didn't catch it (I hope you did), Glinda and Elphaba are more neutral towards each other now. Not necessarily friends, but not enemies either.


	7. 007 Days

Alright... I'm experimenting a bit now... hopefully it goes over well. Thanks to all of my reviewers... you make my life so much happier!

CrystalClear444: I'm confused. I'm not quite understanding what you're trying to say. lol.

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007. Days **

Elphaba ran out of the café as quickly as she could. Halfway back to Shiz, she noticed the sky darkening with rain clouds. She reached back to pull up the hood of her cloak, but the cloak was nowhere to be found. She swore and picked up her pace to try to beat the rains.

Barely a minute later, rain cascaded from the sky in sheets. Elphaba winced as a familiar burning sensation tingled through her skin. She pressed on, literally sprinting back to her dorm. She rushed into Crage Hall, breathing hard, and climbed the two flights of stairs to her room. Her head began to throb from the effort, she was dizzy, her limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated. She cursed the effects water had on her. When she reached to door, she fumbled for her key and struggled to fit it in the lock. Before she could manage to get the key in the lock, the door opened. By this time, the pain in her head was unbearable and her mind fuzzy.

"Elphaba!" Glinda exclaimed, "where have you— Ew! You're soaking!"

Elphaba barely processed the blonde's words. She stumbled past her, grabbed a dry frock from her closet and disappeared into the bathroom. She wrestled the wet clothes off of her and dried her skin with a towel. She pulled the dry frock over her head and glanced quickly at her reflection in the mirror. She looked pale and near death. She turned away from the mirror in time to vomit into the toilet. When she was finished, she collapsed against the wall, trembling slightly.

There was a tapping at the door.

"Elphaba?" Her roommate's voice called through the door. "Are you done in there? I need to use the mirror."

Elphaba didn't respond. She could only hear the blood pulsing through her ears.

"Elphaba?" The door creaked open slowly. Finally, Glinda's eyes found the sweaty, trembling mess that was Elphaba in corner. "Lurline! What happened to you?" Glinda went to her side and place a small hand on her forehead.

"I…," Elphaba sighed and croaked, "it was the water. It hurts me and makes me ill."

"You're burning up," Glinda told her. She offered Elphaba an arm and hoisted her up.

"So you're allergic to water? I've never heard of such a thing," Glinda said as she led Elphaba to her bed.

Elphaba forced a smile. "Neither have I."

"Rest," Glinda ordered, "if you're not better by morning, I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

Elphaba nodded. "Thanks."

"For what?" Glinda didn't stay for an answer. She left to let Elphaba sleep.

While away, Glinda contemplated her roommate. She had been so mean to her at the very beginning of the year. Now she realized that she had no reason to hate the green girl. Elphaba wasn't a terrible person. She was just terribly private, quiet and unfortunately colored. She was smart, she was quick to establish right from wrong, and she was tragically allergic to water. Glinda wondered why such horribly physical traits were inflicted upon her. _Well, those traits won't get the better of me. Not anymore. I can be my own person and decide what's right from wrong._ Glinda decided. _I don't have to be the weak, helpless creature that relies on others to make decisions for her._

A few hours later, Glinda returned to the room. Elphaba was sleeping, but her breathing was slightly irregular. Glinda bit her lip. She desperately hoped that she wouldn't have to take her to the hospital wing, but things weren't looking good. She wished that Ama Clutch hadn't gone out with the other Amas this afternoon. Then, she might not have had to take care of this situation by herself. But as it was, Glinda was on her own.

Glinda heard movement from Elphaba's side of the room. She dismissed it as Elphaba shifting positions or adjusting the covers, but the sounds didn't stop. Glinda looked over her shoulder to find Elphaba shaking uncontrollably. Glinda screamed and rushed over to her.

"Elphaba! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Elphaba kept on shaking.

"No, no, no, no, no!! You _have_ to wake up!" Glinda cried. She was scared and crying in her panic. "_Please_ Elphaba! You _have_ to stop shaking!"

Still, she kept on convulsing. Finally, Glinda's mind became less foggy and she realized that she needed help.

"I'll be back. I _promise,_" Glinda told Elphaba, as if she were actually listening. She dashed out the door, down the stairs and through the rain, which had come down to a drizzle by now.

"Miss Glinda!" a friendly voice called out to her. Glinda looked around and found Boq, a little munchkin fellow who had a huge crush on her, heading toward her.

"Boq, you have to help me," she begged.

"What's wrong?"

"It's… my roommate. She's really sick. I need to get her to the hospital wing." The words came out in a flood. "She shaking and she won't stop and she won't wake up and—"

Boq's eyes were wide, but his face took on a serious expression. "Come on then. Let's hurry."

Glinda nodded and dragged him quickly by his wrist to Elphaba. When they arrived, Elphaba had stopped shaking. Boq saw her skin and gasped.

"Don't be disgusted. She's a good person," Glinda pleaded, "and she needs help."

"No, it's not that," Boq said as he tucked the blankets around Elphaba and picked her up. "I knew—I _know_ her. We went to day school together." He moved swiftly out the door again and Glinda followed.

"Keep the blanket over her face," Boq instructed, "She can't stand water, if I remember correctly."

Glinda obeyed. "I know. That's what got her in this mess in the first place."

They arrived in the hospital wing out of breath and restless.

"Can I help you?" the lady at the desk asked out of habit, not looking up.

"Our friend," Glinda gasped between breaths, "She's terribly sick." She threw a glance at the still unconscious Elphaba. The nurse followed her gaze.

"Oh, my…" Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "Can I get a nurse in here? _Now_?"

A moment later, three nurses stepped into the room. Glinda and Boq looked desperately at them. The nurses stood for a moment unsure of their latest… _green _patient, but then sprung into action.

"Bring her this way," a nurse motioned to Boq. Another nurse busied herself checking Elphaba's temperature and recording the information on a clipboard. The last nurse, who also had a clipboard, turned to Glinda.

"Patient's name?"

"Elphaba Thropp."

"Your relation? His-" she motioned toward Boq "-Relation?"

"She's my roommate and his friend. _Our _friend," she corrected herself.

"Age of patient?"

Glinda faltered. "I'm not sure. I think eighteen." Glinda couldn't remember. Elphaba always acted older than she was.

"Does she have any allergies that you know of?"

"Pure water."

The nurse raised her eyebrows. "How unusual. Can you describe her current illness?"

"Well, she was in the rain. That's what I think caused it. And she threw up… I think she had a headache, too… She had a fever and couldn't walk very well. I went out for a bit to let her sleep and when I came back she started shaking and she wouldn't wake up." Glinda started to tear again.

The nurse patted her arm sympathetically. "Don't worry. We'll fix up your friend. But I have one more question for you: Her skin…"

"She was born that way," Glinda told her. The nurse nodded and rushed her few notes off to the others, leaving Glinda alone in the waiting room. Boq returned a few minutes later.

"Well?" Glinda asked him.

"They say that she'll be here for at least a few days, two weeks tops. They have her all situated and she's been given shots of pain medication and something to keep her from convulsing," Boq told her, "She'll be okay." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and let her lean against him.

"Thank Oz…"

* * *

Not the BEST ending in the world, I know... Anyway, obviously I tried something different with Elphaba's water allergy... that was my experiment. I mean... I can always change it back to her regular allergy. 

Mmm... reviews.

e.r.

...uh-oh, my bad (in almost all senses of the word) chapter is coming up soon...


	8. 008 Weeks

Alright-y. Thanks to my reviewers.

Disclaimer: Do not read Wicked if you are illiterate. May cause confusion.

...Oh, fine! I don't own it. Happy?!

**

* * *

008. Weeks **

For the next few days, Fiyero sat in Life Sciences next to Elphaba's empty chair. He couldn't remember one day that Elphaba was absent before this, let alone for this long. In spite of himself, he began to worry. He fidgeted and found it hard to pay attention.

"Master Fiyero," Dr. Nikidik, the new professor addressed him, "have you developed a twitch, or is this your way of disrupting the class?"

Fiyero stared back at him blankly. "'Scuse me?"

Dr. Nikidik raised an eyebrow and gestured to Fiyero's hand. Fiyero looked down to see his hand unconsciously tapping his pen, quite loudly, against the desk.

"Sorry." He dropped the pen and folded his hands in his lap.

"It'd better not happen again, or it will be an extra essay for you. All of you," the professor said sharply.

Avaric elbowed him in the ribs, glaring.

Fiyero didn't pay attention for the rest of the class. He kept wondering where the quirky green girl was. When the ending bell rang, he sprang from his seat and went to the courtyard.

"'Scuse me," he stopped a girl who was on her way to class, "could you direct me to Miss El-… Miss Glinda's dorm?" He assumed that she wouldn't know or care about the residency of Elphaba.

"Sure," she said kindly, "Crage Hall, just that way. She's on the second floor." She pointed towards a large white building across the way.

"Thank you very much," Fiyero smiled gratefully.

"So, you and Miss Glinda?" she said wryly.

"No, it's not like that," he replied quickly, and rushed off before she could ask anymore. _Honestly… _He thought._ Girls and their gossip._

He pushed open the doors to Crage Hall and climbed the stairs to the second floor. He read the nametags on the doors until he came to a door labeled 'Glinda Arduenna' in loopy pink letters and 'Elphaba Thropp' in a thin, spidery, black scrawl. He knocked.

"Just a minute!" He heard a voice call through the door.

A moment later, a petite, curly-haired blonde opened the door smiling brightly.

"Hi." Her eyes quickly scanned over his tan, sapphire-studded hands, one of which was holding a familiar black cloak.

"Uh… Hi, Miss Arduenna. I'm Fiyero Tiggular. I'm looking for Elphaba…?"

Glinda's face fell. "Oh… I'm so sorry…"

"Did something happen?"

"She's been in the hospital wing for the past few days. She's pretty ill." Glinda left out the bit about the water. "She'll probably be there for another week at least."

Fiyero was speechless. For some reason, he couldn't imagine Elphaba ever being sick. He thought her too stubborn to give into any ailment.

"I could take you to her…" Glinda offered. She'd seen the worry on his face. "I'm about to go there anyway. The nurses said that she could finally have visitors today."

Fiyero merely nodded. Glinda stepped out of the room and closed the door.

"So, how do you know Elphie?" she asked as they walked along.

Fiyero smiled slightly. " Elphie?"

Glinda's eyes widened. "Don't tell her I called her that! I promised that I'd only use it in private, and even then she throws pillows at me."

He chuckled. "Your secret's safe with me. To answer your question, she's in my Life Sciences class. We're working on a long-term project together."

"Oh. So, that's it?"

Fiyero furrowed his brow. "Did she tell you something different?"

"No"

Fiyero felt part of him inexplicably droop.

"I just thought that maybe… oh, nevermind." Glinda waved away her words as they entered the infirmary. They silently located Elphaba's room.

"Wait here," Glinda instructed. She entered quietly, kneeling at the edge of the hospital bed. Elphaba seemed to be sleeping. _She looks so different here… She looks helpless._ Glinda felt terrible seeing such a normally strong young girl in such a state.

"Elphie?" She called softly. Elphaba's eyes slowly fluttered open. She forced a slight smile.

"Hey." She whispered. Glinda threw her arms around her, a few tears slipping from her eyes. She'd always been sensitive to the sick. She discovered this while volunteering at a hospital in Gillikin. But this was the first time she'd ever known a patient, which made this situation seem so much more devastating. Elphaba winced at the sudden contact. As she was, anytime than anything touched her it felt almost as if someone was rubbing sandpaper against a fresh sunburn.

"Thank Lurline you're okay. I wasn't sure you were going to make it, the way you looked a few days ago."

"Shh… It's okay. I'm fine." She laughed quietly in spite of herself. "A little water isn't going to kill me. But suffocating me might." She hoped that Glinda would let go before her eyes started tearing from the pain.

Taking the hint, Glinda loosened her grip on Elphaba. She sniffed a bit.

"I forgot to tell you! You have another visitor."

Elphaba looked puzzled. "Who?"

"You can come in now!" Glinda called. Fiyero stepped in slowly and Glinda took a seat in a chair out of the way.

"Fiyero," Elphaba said, surprised.

"Hi. How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "Like I've been hit by a freight train."

Fiyero winced sympathetically. "What happened? When I last saw you you seemed fine."

"It was the rain," she said simply, as if it was a completely understandable response.

"The rain? How on earth could rain—"

"It's a long story. Maybe another time."

"Alright. Well, I have something for you. You left it at the café." Fiyero held up her cloak. Elphaba groaned.

"I'm so stupid! If I'd just remembered to bring that with me, I wouldn't be in this situation!" she ranted, taking the cloak from him and throwing it at a chair.

"Are you implying that the rain got you a little wet and you ended up in the hospital?" Fiyero asked, disbelievingly.

"That's exactly what I'm implying. It's a complicated allergy," She explained, "For example: Rain water isn't exactly pure water. It has minerals and a few other things in it, but we still consider it water. It touches me and I feel pain. It touches me for a while and I get sick. Distilled water- I was unwillingly a subject of this experiment in grade school- actually blisters my skin on contact like a burn might. The more pure the water, the more damage it does is how I've come to understand it."

Fiyero raised one eyebrow.

"What, you don't believe me? Ask the nurses for some distilled water and try it." She held out her arm, daring him.

"Fiyero, just believe her! She's sick enough already," Glinda insisted from the corner of the room, unable to keep quiet for such a long period of time.

"Don't worry. I believe her. I don't see why she would lie about it." he assured Glinda. "I'll leave your cloak here. I'm going to go find Boq. He's helping me and my family with the irrigation issues we're having at home, being an Agriculture major and all." He kissed her forehead lightly. "Feel better." He waved at a shocked Elphaba as he walked through the door.

Glinda emerged from her corner, giggling at Elphaba's stunned expression. "Speaking of Boq—"

"Wait, I know that name," Elphaba realized, "He's a Munchkinlander, right? A short dirty-blonde fellow with curly hair?"

"Right." Glinda smiled.

"What about him?"

"He helped me get you here. You owe him a thank you."

"More than one." Elphaba corrected tiredly. She vaguely recalled the instance Boq had told off some of her classmates in day school for throwing rocks at her when it was announced that she and her family were going to Quadling Country. She remembered the kids saying things like 'Froggy's moving to Swamp Country! How fitting.' _Some goodbye party that was…_ She rubbed her temples, her head beginning to throb from all of the stimulation of the day.

"Is your headache coming back?" Glinda asked quietly.

Elphaba nodded.

"Then I should go. Get better soon and rest well." Glinda stood to leave.

"Hey, Glinda. Thanks for bringing me here and checking up on me," she said quietly.

Glinda smiled. "What are friends for?"

_Hmm..._ Elphaba thought as she drifted off to sleep. _Friends._

_

* * *

_

Okay... not too proud of that chapter...seems a bit boring to me.

...Oh, lordy... bad chapter countdown: 3 to go.

Review?? ( I really think I need counseling for this obsession... I have my introduction all planned out. "Hi... I'm Carolyn and I'm a review addict." insert chorus of "Hi Carolyn"s )


	9. 009 Months

Disclaimer: Wicked is mine only in my wildest dreams... but in my friend's wildest dreams, she has a car with a wireless steering wheel. It's pretty sweet from what I hear.

Enjoy.

**

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009. Months **

Elphaba was in the infirmary for two weeks, miserably. Glinda, Fiyero, and sometimes even Boq stopped by to give her the assignments she had missed, by her request, of course. The day she got out, she insisted that she be allowed to do what she wanted and not be waited upon.

"I'm a fully capable adult, not an infant!" she argued with them, "I don't need to be checked on every two hours to see whether I'm hungry or not. If I'm hungry, I'll eat!"

Two months after her hospital stay it was spring recess. She and Fiyero still met to discuss their notes and findings, but it seemed that they were getting nowhere in their mission to close the gap between humans and Animals.

"Maybe we should take a break from researching all of this stuff," Fiyero suggested,"Maybe the answer will just come to us one day." He had been staring at a single note-filled piece of paper pounding his fist rhythmically into the center of his forehead for the last half hour. He looked more than eager to stop working.

Elphaba sighed and shook her head. "I don't see how relying on luck will do us any good, but I admit, as much as I love this library, I'd love even more to get out of it."

"Then let's go," Fiyero said, throwing his books into a bag.

Elphaba scrunched her forehead. "Go where?"

Fiyero's eyes gleamed. "Come on. Get your things. You can go back to your dorm to change. I'll be there to get you at six."

"Where—"

"Six." He smiled and walked out the door. Elphaba sighed, worked for another hour and went back to her dorm.

"Glinda, I think Fiyero's gone mad," she said as she plopped down on her bed.

"What'd he do?" Glinda called from behind her make-up compact.

"He just decided in the middle of studying that we should take a break from research."

" He wanted to take a break from _research_? You're right, he's gone completely out of his mind," Glinda replied. Elphaba's sarcasm had rubbed off on her. "Is that really so strange?"

"No, telling me to come back here and get changed and saying that he'd be by to get me at six is strange," Elphaba said pointedly.

Glinda froze for a moment and spun to face Elphaba. She squealed and attacked her with a gigantic hug.

"I'm so PROUD of you!!" She shrieked, squeezing Elphaba harder with every syllable.

"Did I miss something?" Elphaba croaked in the death hold. Glinda released her.

"Fiyero asked you on a date!"

Elphaba laughed. "Oh, no, no, no. It's not a date. And he hardly _asked_."

Glinda crossed her arms over her chest. "Then what is it?"

"It's a spur-of-the-moment get-together between two friends that just so happen to be of opposite sexes."

Glinda rolled her eyes. "Call it what you want, but wear that nice black dress and change quickly. You only have fifteen minutes." Glinda went back to adjusting her hair.

"Whatever you say, Fairy Queen Glinda," Elphaba teased as she disappeared into the bathroom with recommended dress. Glinda, who bore an uncanny resemblence to the Fairy Queen Lurline, hated to be recognized for the likeness.

"Oh, very funny, Elphaba the Deliriously Naive!" Glinda retorted. "But if he tries to kiss you, don't tell me I didn't warn you!"

"Elphaba the Delirious?" Elphaba called back through the door. She briefly poked her head out, smirking. "I like it." And she disappeared once more behind the door yelling: "And he's _not_ going to kiss me!"

* * *

Not unless I tell him to... (cackle) 

Ahem... anyhow. I appreciate the comments on the last chapter. They made me happy, as always.

I'm going to apologize now for the sad, sad excuse for a chapter that's coming up. I mean, I still have to edit it, so it may not be as pathetic as it WAS but the time it's actually posted... It's disappointingly short. And then? The bad chapter. So, "Brace yourselves, lads", as Slightly might say.

e.r.


	10. 010 Years

Okay... you're probably getting sick of me saying that my chapters aren't good, but really... I couldn't think of anything here... so now you can all 'enjoy' a genuinely boring filler.

**

* * *

010. Years **

As Fiyero went back to his dorm, he felt weightless, almost unreal. He and Elphaba were going to go somewhere together and _not_ research anything. He finally asked her out, if telling her that he'd be by to pick her up later could be considered asking. He felt something for her, he didn't know what. Surely, he felt something around her. He felt comfortable and privileged to be able to sit in the vicinity of such passion and talent. He'd waited for that level of comfort for years and he wanted more, even if it came as just a close friendship. Though, he hoped he wouldn't have to settle for just that.

He felt so strange. At the beginning of the term, he couldn't imagine even _liking_ this girl. Now, he didn't know what he thought. Maybe he _liked_, really liked, her. Maybe he loved her, but he couldn't begin to wrap his head around a concept as big as love. No, not when he didn't even know what she thought of him.

_Well,_ Fiyero thought to himself, _If I screw up this time around, I have two years to try to make it right again…_

_No! What am I saying? I'm going to make this unforgettable._

_

* * *

_

Oh, Fiyero... ever the romantic... 

Next chapter: I'm nervous about it, REALLY nervous.


	11. 011 Red

Here goes nothing...

The dreaded chapter...(runs to hide in a corner)

**

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011. Red **

At six, there was a knock on the girls' room door.

"Get the door! Get the door!" Glinda hissed excitedly.

"I'm going!" Elphaba mouthed to her. She opened the door.

"Hello, F—_Boq_. And in nice clothes?" Elphaba turned to Glinda, confused. Glinda's mouth formed a small 'O' and catapulted into action.

"Hey, Elphaba. Is Glinda ready?" he fidgeted nervously, straightening his tie.

"Umm, let me check," she left the door cracked just a hair and watched, amazed and entertained, as Glinda threw on a dress and make up in record time. She turned back to Boq. "She'll be right with you."

Boq let out a breath. "So… you're dressed up," he noted, smiling as if he knew something she didn't.

"Yes. I am."

"What's the occa—" he was cut of by Glinda barging through the door and consequently through Elphaba.

"Hi!" She said, out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. Let's go." She bit her lip and gave Elphaba an 'I'll-explain-later' look. Elphaba just raised her eyebrows at her.

"Have fun, children and don't miss curfew." She called after them. Glinda spared a moment to turn around and stick her tongue out at her. Elphaba just made a face and closed the door.

A few minutes later, there was another knock at the door. Elphaba opened the door to find a flabbergasted Fiyero.

"Did you see…? Because I just...and…" he struggled.

"Yes, apparently Glinda and Boq are going on a date of some sort. I'm just as shocked as you are," she assured him.

"Oh, good. As long as I'm not the only one." He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning Elphaba carefully. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"You look amazing," he said finally. He thought he caught the shadow of a blush appear on her cheeks.

"You too." Elphaba spotted a bag on the floor. "Is that yours?" she asked.

"Yeah. Grab a bag and pack enough clothes for a weekend," he told her.

"Wait just a minute here. What's going on?" she asked firmly.

"It's a surprise," he said vaguely. "Don't worry. I'm not going to kidnap you or murder you, or anything like that. I promise."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I hardly believe you'd hurt anyone unless you found a reason. Come in."

Elphaba emptied out her school bag and shoved in some clean clothes, a few bare necessities, and a book.

"Okay, I'm packed. Let me just leave a note telling Glinda that I'll be gone."

"Don't worry about it. I told Boq to tell her sometime tonight… I guess I didn't know that they were going out together though." He chuckled. "Come on, let's go. I have a carriage waiting."

Elphaba grabbed her cloak and her keys, switched off the lights, and followed Fiyero out. He helped her into the carriage that was waiting just outside of the campus.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" Elphaba asked as the carriage started moving.

"We're going to the greatest place in Oz." He said mysteriously. "The Emerald City."

"The Emerald City?!" Elphaba exclaimed. "How on earth are you paying for this? I'll help, of course, but really, Fiyero!"

"You forgot something," Fiyero hinted, "I'm a prince."

"Oh… that's right. You are." Elphaba, having been friends with Fiyero for so long, had forgotten completely about his status. He never flaunted his title, which Elphaba respected. But now that she was reminded, she felt almost inadequate.

"So, how long will it take to get there?" Elphaba asked.

"I'd say maybe two hours at the most. Have you ever been to the City?"

"No," Elphaba said, looking down. "I've only been to Nest Hardings in Munchkinland, parts of Quadling Country, and Shiz."

"Tell me about it, Quadling Country," Fiyero insisted.

"It's desolate, mostly marshes. The people… they're just as desolate as the land. They're poor and mostly dirty. I didn't mind though. They never judged me on account of my skin. They taught me their language when I was young. I can still understand some, but I've forgotten how to speak. Their skin… it was different than any Munchkinlander or Gillikinese. It was this curiously beautiful dusty rose color. I couldn't enjoy Quadling Country much though. Not when my father used me as a prop in his sermons," She said bitterly.

"Sermons? Surely a self-proclaimed atheist such as yourself doesn't have a religious father!"

"Ha. My father was—is—as religious as they come. He loved the world enough to try to save it, but couldn't spare any of that love for his green daughter. I suppose what doesn't kill me makes me stronger," She sighed. "And what of the Vinkus?"

"It's dry. A lot of the Vinkus is desert and arid plains. We—my family and I—have a castle there. Kiamo Ko. It's nice there, I guess. It's too structured though, being Crown Prince. I don't really like it." He went quiet, and Elphaba sensed more problems than just a rigid upbringing.

"So have you been to the City?" She asked.

"Once when I was younger my dad brought me there. He took me to a museum and a bank…I asked if we could go to the park, he said, 'No, son, that's where the riff-raff congregate.' We have an apartment there, though. My used to go to the City on business a lot, but not since the Wizard came," Fiyero explained. "That's where we'll be staying. In the apartment."

Elphaba nodded, yawning.

"Tired?"

Elphaba shrugged.

"Make yourself comfortable. We'll eat when we get there." Fiyero yawned also. "I think I'm going to sleep, too. G'night, Elphaba." He leaned his head against the side of the carriage. Elphaba tried to do the same on the other side, but was unable to find a comfortable spot. She finally settled with sitting upright, her head reclining against the seat back. Slowly, the movement of the carriage rocked her to sleep.

Elphaba woke up to someone gently rubbing her shoulder. She groaned sleepily, swatting at the intruding hand. She then heard a deep chuckle, feeling it vibrate through her. She opened her eyes slowly and finally remembered where she was. She sat straight up and blushed madly when she realized that she'd been sleeping against Fiyero's shoulder.

"Sorry…"

"It's alright. Didn't bother me," He assured her. "In any case, we're here."

Elphaba grabbed her bag and cloak and followed Fiyero out of the carriage. She glanced around, taking in the sights. The buildings were so tall, taller than any she'd ever seen before. She was dazzled by the lights that she saw in the distance.

"Let's go inside. There's a great view from there." Fiyero promised.

They took and elevator up to the 14th floor, which was new for Elphaba. She'd never been on and elevator _or_ on a 14th floor before. The main room was huge, she thought, for an apartment. It was furnished with comfortable leather armchairs and a couch, it had a fireplace, a door to a balcony and a huge picture window.

Elphaba looked out the window and felt dizzy for a brief moment, but then saw the magnificent view that they had of the Emerald Palace. It was illuminated with green lights and yellow pinpricks of light could be seen in the occupied rooms.

"It's beautiful in a sort of ironic way." Elphaba mused. Fiyero came up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder, making her jump.

"Sorry. I just wanted to know how hungry you were."

Elphaba shrugged. "Not very."

"Alright. Then I'm going to go to the store to pick up some things to make dinner. I'll show you your room, but please, make yourself at home. Follow me."

Fiyero led her to a spacious guest room with a fluffy queen-sized bed, and large, filled bookcase, and a window to the street.

"It's perfect." Elphaba stated. "It's huge."

Fiyero chuckled. "I'll be back in a bit."

Elphaba set down her bag and let herself fall onto the large bed. Within moments she was asleep again. She woke up later to the smell of some sort of ethnic food. Her stomach growled, and she followed her nose into the kitchen, where Fiyero was wearing an apron cooking dinner. Elphaba snorted at the sight.

"You woke up just in time, Sleeping Beauty." Fiyero said teasingly. "Dinner's ready." He emptied a pan of rice onto two plates, which already had vegetables on them, and brought the plates to a set table.

"Please, sit." He bowed, gesturing to a chair. Elphaba raised her eyebrows, impressed, and sat. Fiyero ripped off his apron, shoved it into a drawer and joined Elphaba at the table.

"This smells amazing." Elphaba complimented. "What, exactly, is it?"

"This is a kind of rice dish that's common in the Vinkus, very flavorful, and these are… um… assorted vegetables, probably from Munchkinland. And this is… wine." He pointed to the glass in front of her. "I couldn't tell you what kind for the life of me."

Elphaba laughed.

They ate and talked about school and the Animals and the Wizard. When they were finished, Elphaba helped clear the table and insisted that she wash the dishes, using gloves, of course. Fiyero lingered in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, keeping Elphaba company.

"Dinner was great." She told Fiyero as she put the last dish away and peeled off her gloves.

"Probably better than anything Glinda and Boq got for their dinner at Shiz."

"Agreed." Elphaba said as she took a spot on the counter next to Fiyero. "What do you think they're doing, anyway?"

She looked at him, waiting for an answer. He just stood there, staring back at her. Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Elphaba felt a strange wave wash through her. Her eyes closed and her arms found their way around his neck, just as his hands found her waist. Elphaba's lips parted instinctively when Fiyero's tongue traced her bottom lip. She felt his tongue twine with hers and her mind felt hazy. She didn't want the feeling to end. Fiyero finally drew away from her lips, but didn't stop kissing her. He planted kisses along her jaw-line, stopping at her neck. He sucked lightly, making her moan softly. Elphaba felt herself being gradually lowered onto a bed. She hadn't even realized that they'd been moving. She didn't stop him though. Her mind was clouded over with want.

Fiyero gently climbed over her, catching her lips again. His hands roamed up and down her sides and back, stopping at the zipper of her dress. He looked into her eyes, asking permission. She nodded, and he kissed her again, easing her dress off of her. Her hands moved over his chest undoing the buttons of his shirt one by one, finally removing it completely. Elphaba kissed down his neck, catching each new sapphire that was revealed to her. He pulled her dress off of her, leaving her only in her undergarments. He stopped to look at her.

"You're beautiful." He growled into her ear. She said nothing. She struggled slightly with his belt and he helped her remove it and his trousers. He moved back over her, caressing her sides. He removed her bra and teased her nipples. She gasped at the feeling. Her back arched involuntarily when he replaced his hands with his mouth. His hands wandered downward, slipping off the last restraining garment on her. Finally, he removed his own boxers. She felt him pressing against her thigh. Fiyero looked into her eyes, and she nodded again. He pulled her close and entered her quickly. Elphaba bit the inside of her lip to keep from screaming and buried her face in Fiyero's shoulder. She whimpered softly and a tear slipped from her eye. Fiyero stayed still inside of her, kissing her hair, until she lifted her face again. He moved slowly at first, watching her face. He moved faster when she moaned letting herself fall against the pillow, hazy-eyed. She held fast to his shoulders, her nails making small marks. He kissed her neck, then moved back down to her breast. She lifted her hips to his and he grunted. Soon, he hit her just right and she moaned his name. Her muscles clenched against him and he released. He fell against the bed and wrapped Elphaba in his arms, holding her tightly. She snuggled into him and kissed him before falling asleep in his arms.

Fiyero watched her sleep. She looked so innocent. His eyes fell on the red on the sheets. _She _was_ so innocent…_ He kissed her temple and fell asleep with her.

* * *

(returns from hiding in corner decked in make-shift armor) So that's the first 'scene' I've ever written...and I've decided that I HATE writing them!!! It's so AWKWARD...gahh! soooo awkward... and I don't even think its well written! 

(insert spastic episode)

so I think, if I ever need anything else, I'll... hire someone or something. I dunno.

you know the drill... with the funny-colored button and the typing and the other button of the same funny color... knock yourselves out with criticism and whatnot.


	12. 012 Orange

Alright... I _know _that the last chapter was rushed, to say the VERY least. That's the other reason (besides awkwardness for me) that I hid in a corner. I'm going to try to make it up to you (but probably not with another 'scene'... not soon anyway)

...Does anyone else think it's pathetic that I can't use the 's' wordin my own speech without being uncomfortable, but I can with my characters' dialogue just fine? I'm so immature...lol.

...Hey, my school is named after this chapter... That's a reason not to like it right there.

**

* * *

012. Orange **

The next morning, Elphaba's eyes fluttered open. The sun was just rising, giving everything an orange-ish cast. She lay still on her side. She knew exactly where she was and what she'd done the night before (the raw feeling between her legs reminded her). She turned her head back, seeing Fiyero still asleep with his arm wrapped gently around her waist. Her heart started beating faster as her mind filled with morning-after realizations and 'what ifs'.

_I just slept with Fiyero. What if he regrets it? What if we can't be friends after this? What if he was never my friend and this was all a cruel joke?_ Her thoughts became more outrageous as she kept thinking about it, but she seemed to skip right over the _rational_ concern. That would come later.

She felt Fiyero stir beside her and pretended to be asleep. He kissed her shoulder and rubbed her side until she turned to face him.

"Morning," he whispered. Elphaba just nodded, unsure of how to react to him after…well, _that_.

A look of concern swept over his features. "Are you mad?" he asked, "Do you regret it?"

Elphaba looked him straight in the eyes. "I… no, I'm not mad and no, I don't regret it."

"Good." He kissed her forehead. " I'd never forgive myself if I forced you to do something you didn't want to."

There was an awkward silence.

"But what happens now, Yero?"

"Well, I was hoping that, maybe, if you want to, we could… be together?" Fiyero went on nervously, not even sure what he was saying, "And that one day, if things go well, we could get married and have a family…" He stopped when he saw Elphaba's jaw drop.

"It's _really_ early to start talking about weddings and having childr…" Elphaba trailed off and her eyes went wide.

"What?" Fiyero asked, "what is it?"

"We didn't use protection, did we?" she realized.

"No, but I promise, I don't have any weird disease or any—Oh…"

"Shit!" Elphaba began to panic. She wrapped the blanket around her and rushed around the room gathering her clothes. Fiyero found his pants and slipped them on.

"Elphaba," he tried to get her attention. "Elphaba." She kept searching for her clothes. "_Elphaba!_" He grabbed her arm as she breezed past him, forcing her to look at him.

"Listen to me. Even if you are… pregnant, I'm not going to leave you. I promise. I had something to do with this and I'm not going to bail out on you."

Elphaba sat herself down on the floor staring at Fiyero's feet. She looked like she might vomit. Fiyero wouldn't blame her if she did. Instead, she looked up at him, smiling in spite of herself.

"I'd never have guessed that I'd be in this mess. Especially at seventeen."

Fiyero knelt down in front of her. "Are you really only seventeen?" The 'only' wasn't really necessary. He was barely eighteen himself.

She nodded and then froze. "Please tell me you're not in your late twenties or something like that. As if we need to make the situation more awkward."

Fiyero laughed. "No. Eighteen. I just thought you were at least my age since we're in the same year. You act so much more mature and you carry yourself better than the other girls in our year."

"Let's see how I carry myself in a few months." Elphaba responded darkly, motioning to her torso. Fiyero bit his lip.

"Let's just take things as they come."

* * *

Okay... so that was a nice little filler that doesn't really matter... Next is another little filler that's... I dunno... 

Anyway, I thank all of my reviewers because they basically rock and tell me if I do something not-so-wonderful... like rushing. Honesty is pretty much always appreciated.

e.r


	13. 013 Yellow

By request, this is being posted. Actually, I was going to post it anyway... but that's beside the point. As I said before, it's a filler... which is fun, I suppose... if you're a jelly donut.

I don't own Wicked, Wicked owns me and keeps my soul in a high-security prison. (It _is_ a nice prison, though...)

**

* * *

013. Yellow **

Back at Shiz, Glinda and Boq were in the courtyard of the school. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting a golden-yellow off of Glinda's curls.

"I'm bored." Glinda stated. She leaned back against Boq's shoulder. "Why does Elphie get to go to the Emerald City?" she pouted.

"If I had the money, I'd take you," Boq assured her, "but as it is, I'm a poor college student from Munchkinland."

"Then what if I take you?" Glinda suggested, turning to face him.

"Wh—are you serious?"

She smiled brightly. "My mom has been sending me some money each month to go shopping. What she doesn't know is that there aren't very many high-fashion shops here." She grimaced. "On the bright side, I have a lot of money saved from the beginning of the year! What do you say?"

Boq was speechless.

"Great! Get packed and I'll get some train tickets and meet you at the station in an hour. We can surprise Fiyero and Elphie!" She squeaked. "This is going to be so fun!"

Boq stared after her as she bounced back to her dorm. _The girl's absolutely insane!_ He laughed to himself. _Maybe that's why I love her so much._

An hour later, Boq met up with Glinda at the station with a small travel bag. It was hard to spot her behind her large rolling bag.

"Glinda? Is that going to fit on the train?" He teased. That earned him a slap on the arm.

"A girl always travels prepared. It's better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it," she said matter-of-factly. Boq shrugged.

"Oh! Here are your tickets, dear." She handed him a green ticket to the Emerald City and a bright yellow one for the trip back to Shiz.

"One day I'm going to find a way to pay you back for these." He told her. He kissed her lightly on the lips, making her smile.

"Come on, we're boarding now."

When the sat down in their seats, Boq smiled mischievously.

"Guess what Fiyero forgot in our dorm."

"What?"

Boq dangled a set of keys in front of her face. "The keys to the apartment where they're staying. My guess is that when we arrive they'll be out scouting the City. We can scare the daylights out of them." Normally Boq would never even think of barging into someone's apartment unannouced, but he was still bitter from the time a certain Winkie prince had filled his pillowcases with pudding on his birthday. He swore that his bed (and possibly even his head) still smelled like chocolate.

"So? What do you think?"

Glinda's face brightened. She still needed to get Elphaba back for making her squeal loudly by sneaking up behind her in the library. She had been so embarrassed when people turned around to look at her. "You, Master Boq, are a wicked, wicked man. I love you."

* * *

Uhhh ohh... I'm actually tempted to post the next chapter, but if I do, I won't have enough chapters in reserve (I'm down to one and a half...). I've only recently experienced the joy that comes with unposted chapters, and boy, do I love it. Anyway, still, thanks to my reviewers. 

e.r


	14. 014 Green

E Gad! An actual chapter...

Lady Tiggular: I'm glad everything was resolved with your friend. Scary situation that is, I bet. Anyway, after reading this, you'll get some of your closure. As for the ages in Wicked, I've had many a headache over that... So confusing. That's why I just kind of slip in ages that may or not correspond to the book...

**

* * *

014. Green **

Boq was right in thinking that Fiyero and Elphaba would be out when they arrived. He and Glinda stayed in the main room, waiting for them to return. They didn't have to wait long.

"I hear footsteps! And laughing!" Glinda whispered excitedly. "Turn off the lights and hide behind the couch!"

They both hid behind the large leather couch waiting anxiously for the door to open. When it did, they were the ones surprised. Fiyero closed the door behind them and kissed Elphaba deeply.

Glinda rose slowly from her hiding place, Boq close behind her.

"Oh, my Oz…" Glinda said, eyes wide. Elphaba tore away from Fiyero, blushing a mad shade of dark green. Boq had already turned green watching. For him, it was like his best friend kissing his green-skinned sister.

"Glinda! Boq!" Fiyero greeted nervously. "What a surprise."

"Yeah… surprise." Boq said weakly. Elphaba backed up against the wall, trying to blend in with the wall paper. She inched away slowly, slipping into the small hallway before sprinting to her room.

Fiyero finally turned on the lights. "So… what brings you two to the Emerald City?"

"I was bored." Glinda answered. Boq nodded.

"Are you mad?" Glinda asked Fiyero.

He took a breath. "No, I'm not," he said honestly. "But Elphaba might be."

Glinda nodded. "I'll go talk to her."

"Her room is the second one to the left."

Glinda left the two men to talking. She knocked on Elphaba's door.

"What do you want?" came the angry reply.

"To talk." Glinda turned the handle of the door finding it, surprisingly, unlocked.

"You're lucky I couldn't figure out how to lock that." Elphaba said, glaring at her from her seat on the bed. Glinda just shrugged and sat next to her.

"So… you and Fiyero, huh?" Glinda said good-naturedly. Elphaba glared at her.

"You're cute together."

Elphaba shrugged and changed the subject. "You and Boq. How long has that been happening?"

"Three weeks." Glinda giggled.

"Where was _I_ when this happened?"

"Studying with Fiyero."

"Right…"

Glinda frowned. "Is something wrong? You should be happy! You and Fiyero are together."

"I am happy." Elphaba's tone matched her statement, but her expression didn't.

"But...?"

"Promise me you won't tell anyone. On your life." Her eyes glowed fiercely.

"I promise." Glinda said, shocked by Elphaba's sudden intensity.

"Alright." Elphaba looked away, ashamed.

Glinda gasped before she could say anything. "Oh, Elphie, you didn't…."

Elphaba looked up guiltily. "I did."

"On purpose?" Glinda blurted out. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry."

Elphaba fell back on the bed, covering her face with her hands.

"Do you love him?" Glinda realized how stupid of a question it was only after she asked it. Elphaba wouldn't have let it happen if she didn't.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed.

Glinda sighed. "Do you like him?"

"Of course I do."

"So…you like him and you slept with him. It's not _so_ bad." Glinda propped herself up on her elbows beside Elphaba.

"It gets worse." Elphaba groaned.

"Elphaba Thropp, if you tell me that you didn't use protection…" Glinda sighed again knowing by the look on Elphaba's face that she was right. "We're going out tonight, just the two of us. We're going to see a fortuneteller. Come out of your room when you're feeling more social. I''m sure Boq wants to say hello." Elphaba nodded and Glinda left to find a directory. Elphaba didn't leave her room, though.

Later that evening, the girls went out as planned. Glinda led them into a broken-down part of the city and into a small shop.

"Can I help you?" A hunched old lady sat at a small table.

"Yes, my friend, she…"Glinda started.

The old woman laughed raucously showing off a few yellow teeth. "Greenie's got herself into a bit of trouble, has she?" Elphaba was dumbfounded. She hadn't lowered her hood. How could the old woman already know that she was green?

"Sit, Froggy. Give Mother Yackle your hand."

Elphaba set her hand on the table and the crone grabbed it, examining her palm and knuckles.

"No, you won't have a child. Not this time." She chuckled. "But the next one will be a surprise, too! Ooh… what's this?"-she traced a line on her palm and tsked-"That's a sad turn of events… poor boy. And a strange ending to go with it." She dropped Elphaba's hand.

"What's sad? What happens?"

"No worries dear. Just give Yackle her coins. An old woman has to eat too, you know."

Elphaba threw a few coins down on the table, glaring at her. She spun around and dragged Glinda out the door with her.

"Goodbye, dearies! Come back soon."

* * *

Ack... creepy Yackle... 

Sadly, I don't think I'll be posting anything for a while because I have to finish a term paper for a tough English teacher (It's almost enjoyable because part of it's on Wicked, comparing it to Macbeth), finish a history project for some 60's/70's fair on Friday, study like hell for a statistics test tomorrow, study for the AP stat test for Tuesday (if I want to pass the course), work on a history presentation on the "Reagan Revolution", work on a panel for English, and study for a chemistry test. Oh, and soon after that I have to start studying for finals. I think that's enough excuses...

I hate school... Who's with me?

I don't suppose anyone wants to magically appear to tutor me in stat, do they?

e.r.

Oh, and my reviewers still make my world go round. Thanks.


	15. 015 Blue Revised

::peeks out from behind a reinforced wall::

hi... umm... i'm back temporarily... and i thought i might grace you with a new chapter... finally. i'm not sure how i feel about it though. i haven't really been at my best writing-wise. i'll try to get things moving again, though.

disclaimer:

Step 1: Denial : It's mine!! ALL mine! No matter what they say... They're lying!

Step 2: Anger: I HATE copyrights. I HATE not thinking this up before Gregory Maguire!

Step 3: Bargaining: What if I just own a _little_ bit of Wicked? Like the 'W' or something? Please? I'll be a good girl for the rest of my life!

Step 4: Depression::SOB::SOB::SOB::

Step 5: Acceptance: Okay... fine. I don't own Wicked...

* * *

**015. Blue (Revised)**

The women returned to Fiyero's flat and Elphaba headed straight into her room without even a glance toward Fiyero, who was sitting and talking to Boq in the living room. Glinda found a comfortable spot on Boq's lap and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"How much does he know?" Glinda asked Fiyero conversationally, referring to Boq.

Fiyero averted his eyes. "Not much, considering."

"Boq-y, could you wait here for a little bit? Fiyero, Elphaba, and I have to talk." Glinda looked at him with puppy eyes.

He smiled and shook his head. "How can I resist that face?"

"Thank you, sweetie." She hopped off of his lap and motioned for Fiyero to follow her. Boq pretended that he didn't know he was missing out on anything and pulled out a book.

As they walked to Elphaba's room, Glinda whispered to Fiyero. "Have you even talked about it since then?"

Fiyero shrugged. "Sort of. I told her that whatever happens I won't leave her. And that's the truth. Regardless of what she thinks, I really do love her."

Glinda's eyes softened. "Have you told her that yet?"

"No. It may sound stupid, but I'm afraid to. I mean, what if she doesn't feel that way? Or, what if she disappears on me?"

"You're ridiculous, both of you," Glinda whispered, "But you really should tell her." She knocked on Elphaba's door and called, "Elphie, it's me. Can I come in?" There was a grunting noise in response. Glinda took it as permission to enter.

They found Elphaba glaring at the ceiling with a pillow gripped tightly against her chest. It looked like she'd been trying to strangle it.

"Elphie, I know you're still mad at that old lady, but I really think you and Fiyero should talk a little more about where you two are going," she said, closing the door behind Fiyero.

Silence.

"I know what you could start with," Glinda hinted.

Elphaba sighed deeply. "We went to a fortuneteller tonight. She said that I'm not going to be having a child any time soon."

"That's good news." Fiyero commented.

Silence.

"Alright." Glinda was getting annoyed. "I'm going to ask some questions and you two have to answer honestly. Whatever is said in this room stays in this room, I swear on my life. Fiyero, sit down. Elphaba, sit up."

Surprised at the blonde's sudden outburst, both did as they were told.

"First order of business: What the hell got into you last night?" Glinda was being very stern. She kind of liked having this sort of power over people.

The couple stared blankly at her. Elphaba played with the material of her skirt and Fiyero picked at his nails.

"I don't think we were thinking," Elphaba said finally. She looked at Fiyero, who nodded in agreement.

"So, this seems like one-night stand material to me. Had you been drinking?" Now she was being blunt. _Perhaps Elphaba is rubbing off on me…_

"We had some wine," Elphaba admitted, trying to find an excuse for her loose judgment that night.

"It wasn't enough to do anything though," Fiyero interjected. "You can check the bottle." He was hurt that Elphaba was looking for excuses, but kept that to himself.

"So you were sober. That makes things a bit more complicated, I suppose," Glinda observed. "Was it meaningful?"

"I hope so." Fiyero cast a sideways glance at Elphaba, who was staring intently at the floor. "I mean, every time I'm around you I'm happy. You make me feel like I don't _need_ to impress anyone, especially you. But the weird thing is, that just makes me want to impress you more. Elphaba, please look at me. Don't run away or tell me that I'm lying or stupid, just listen to me,"- he looked at Glinda for a brief second, and she smiled, urging him to go on-"I love you. I don't know how or when this happened, but I really do. I think you're smart and funny and beautiful and I really don't want to lose you just because we let our inhibitions slip away for one night. I really want to make this relationship work," He finished. He waited for a response. "Elphaba?"

She was staring at the floor again. Fiyero looked at Glinda who just shrugged.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Fiyero asked. There was no response. "Fine," he said almost darkly, "If you decide to talk to me, I'll be in my room." He left, shutting the door behind him.

"You really should have said something," Glinda told her.

"I know," Elphaba said quietly, "But what could I say to that?"

"You could tell him how you feel," Glinda suggested.

Elphaba sighed. "I don't know how I feel. I don't even know what to think right now. It's one thing happening after the other. I had to convince myself that nothing happened just to get through the day with him. When you saw him kiss me, that was the first time I let him all day and that was only because I wasn't expecting it."

"You seemed to respond pretty well," Glinda pointed out.

"Well, that's because-" Elphaba stopped mid-sentence and began pacing. "I don't know."

"It's because you liked it, isn't it?" The blonde smiled knowingly. "I bet that's how it all started, with a kiss. You couldn't get enough of it."

"Glinda, please don't confront me right now."

She shrugged. "Fine, I'll leave you alone. Just don't disappear or anything. I think we should go for midnight margaritas later. Just us girls." She winked. Elphaba gave her a weary look.

"Or not." Glinda amended. "Don't stay in there all evening though. Boq might suspect something more." And she left.

Instead of going back to Boq, though, she barged into Fiyero's room. He was sitting, slouched, on the edge of his bed.

"She doesn't love me," he said forlornly. Glinda sat next to him.

"I spilled my heart out to her and for nothing. She doesn't love me."

"She does," Glinda assured him, "She's just not ready to admit it yet."

"How do you know?" Fiyero asked bitterly. "She wouldn't say anything."

"She's been through a lot these past few days. Give it time."

"I've been through a lot too!" Fiyero exclaimed. "And she wasn't just completely rejected after she told someone she loves them."

"You didn't have to go through an entire day pretending that you weren't worried that you were pregnant and that everything was okay. You didn't explain to your best friend that you just had sex with your other best friend," Glinda argued.

"None of that tells me that she loves me, or even _likes_ me for that matter."

Glinda stood up in rage. "You want proof that she loves you?"

"Yeah. I do." Fiyero challenged.

Glinda threw the covers off of the bed and found exactly the proof she was looking for. "See this?" she hissed, pointing to the dried blood, "I suppose you know what that means."

"It's already been established that Elphaba and I had sex."

"No, _dummy_,"-only Glinda could make the word 'dummy' sound venomous-"_Obviously_, Elphie trusted you enough, _loved _you enough, to give herself to you. If you think for a second that Elphaba would let just anyone to take her virginity, you really don't know her. Come to your senses and quit moping." She spat. "I know you're smarter than you're acting now. Somewhere inside, you know she loves you. If you'd just be patient, you'll hear it from her." She stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

She convinced Boq to go to a hotel with her instead of staying at the flat for the night, leaving their currently self-loathing friends to deal with their problems. Stubborn as ever, the two stayed shut in their respective rooms for hours before either of them would attempt reconciliation. In the end, it was Elphaba's guilt that shattered the silence between them.

Quietly, Elphaba slipped out of the guest bedroom and knocked on Fiyero's door, hoping that he wasn't asleep already.

"Fiyero?" Instead of waiting for a response, she let herself into his room. Fiyero was sitting in a chair across from the bed staring into space. He didn't even seem to register that she had entered the room.

"Fiyero," she called again, quietly. This time, he looked up at her. His eyes were vacant and weary.

"I'm sorry."

Fiyero was confused. He'd been ready for 'It's over' or 'I want to go home', but he hadn't thought that she'd apologize. He'd thought for hours about what Glinda had shouted at him, but none of it seemed to process. Not until now.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry," Elphaba repeated. "I should have said something back. I wanted to, please believe me… but all of this is so new and overwhelming. I didn't know how to react to everything you said."

Fiyero nodded.

"I want you to know that I do care about you. I care so much about you that it scares me."

"I… I guess I knew that," Fiyero admitted, "I just wanted to hear it. I was impatient… I was a complete ass."

"Do you think we can ever go back to the way that we were before?" Elphaba asked.

"Well, I was hoping that you'd, maybe, go with me? I wanted to ask you back at Shiz. I was afraid to, "Fiyero told her. "I really do love you, Elphaba. Will you go out with this sorry, pathetic ass?"

Elphaba giggled. "Well, when you put it that way maybe I shouldn't," she joked.

Fiyero pouted.

"Of course I'll go out with you, Fiyero."

Fiyero smiled broadly. "As you boyfriend, can I kiss you?"

Elphaba quirked her eyebrow. "I don't know, can you?"

"_May_ I?"

"You didn't seem to have to ask me last night," Elphaba pointed out neutrally.

"Don't go there," Fiyero warned, and he kissed her firmly.

A month later, school was in session and Elphaba and Fiyero were still happily together, but Glinda noticed that something was bothering Elphaba.

"What's wrong?" Glinda asked her one evening. Elphaba had been sitting looking at nothing for a while. She'd been more quiet and distant than usual in the past week or so. She seemed… blue, for a lack of better word.

"What are the chances that Yackle was wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Remember Yackle, the fortuneteller? What are the chances that she's wrong?"

"It's impossible. Why?"

"I'm late."

* * *

that was probably the worst place to leave you in all the history of cliffhangers... umm... i'm gonna go hide now. and try to write another chapter or two... for one of my stories... 

i love my reviewers. they make my world go 'round. :)


	16. 016 Purple

Well... it's been a while... for this story. (longer for Prophecy... I'm working on it... slowly but surely. SLOWLY but surely.

Stupid excuses:

SAT classes (ick) are slowing me down a bit along with soccer (which is physically slowing me down). Let me just say, that three 40 minute games in a row with only eight people and no subs REALLY takes a toll on your body. 'Specially if you already have a foot injury and if, during that time, you develop a blister on the bottom of your foot the size of a quarter.

By the way, if you haven't guessed, I still don't own Wicked. If I did, I don't think I'd HAVE to worry about SATs...

* * *

**016. Purple **

Boq was lost. He was confused and slightly put out for being left out of the loop when it came to his friends. He knew that Fiyero and Elphaba were an item now; He was scarred from having it broken to him so suddenly… and in such an unconventional fashion. However, he still didn't know what had happened between them in the Emerald City. They were fairly edgy for a new couple. They had very little of the closeness and buoyancy that he and Glinda had shared when they started dating until a week or so after they returned to Shiz. He knew that Elphaba had always been a bit strange when it came to relationships, but he couldn't imagine what could delay the initial annoyingly care-free air that was supposed to envelope every new couple. Now, Elphaba was sullen again, putting on a half-genuine, half-plastic smile when Fiyero came around. Boq was worried.

"Fiyero?" he asked one afternoon after classes, "I know it seems late that I'm asking this now, but I thought I'd wait 'til whatever it was passed over: What happened between you and Elphie in the Emerald City?"

Fiyero adopted a rather blank look. He was compelled to tell him, Boq really did deserve to know, being his best friend and all, but there was Elphaba to think about. Would she want yet another person to be 'in' on their awkward coming together? Then again, she _did_ tell Glinda…

"I mean, you don't have to tell me everything- or anything!- but… just take care of her, okay?" Boq said seriously. "She's a good girl, I know she is. She's bit misguided, yes, but good straight to the soul that she claims not to have. She was a great friend in day school and she's a great friend now. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to her. Don't take this the wrong way or anything; I love her like a brother would. Growing up together might've had something to do with it."

Fiyero was surprised. He never would have expected Boq to go out of his way to say something like that. Then again, he'd never realized how close Boq was to Elphaba. Perhaps he should tell him what happened in the City.

"I'll take care of her." Fiyero promised. "And I'll tell you what happened then, but you have to promise not to see it as a reflection on either of our characters, especially not Elphaba's."

Boq nodded. "As long as you don't hurt her."

Fiyero nodded. "Alright. Well… things got a bit carried away our first night there. One thing led to another and…" Fiyero began.

"Oh, Lurline…"

"Yeah. We talked about it the next morning. Elphaba seemed to have come to terms with the fact that it happened. She didn't act too strangely- and that was strangest part about it. We talked about what would happen if she conceived. I'd stay with her. But through the day, I think the weight of the situation finally got to her. She wouldn't let me kiss her or put my arm around her. I could only, occasionally, hold her hand. I think she was trying to pretend that nothing happened and that we were only friends again." Fiyero shook his head. "When we came back to the apartment, I finally kissed her, as you well may remember. She wasn't expecting it, which I think may have been why she took to it so well."

Boq cringed.

"Elphaba hid in her room, Glinda talked to her. You stood frozen like an idiot-"

"Hey, Elphaba is like my sister. How would you like it if your roommate started kissing your sister? You might feel a bit out of sorts, too," Boq defended himself. Fiyero chuckled.

"Anyway, that night when the girls said that they were going out shopping, they really went out to see a fortuneteller. Glinda did the smart thing and forced Elphaba and me to talk to each other after that. Elphaba told me she wasn't pregnant, and I told her that I loved her. She didn't say anything back and I started doubting whether she liked me or not. Glinda brought me back to my senses, though. You've really got a smart girlfriend, Boq. She knows people."

Boq smiled. "Yeah."

* * *

"I'm late."

"What do you mean you're late?" Glinda asked, panic rising in her voice.

"I'm _late_, Glinda." Elphaba emphasized. "I haven't bled since it happened."

"But you're not pregnant. Yackle said so!"

"She said that I wouldn't have a child, yes," Elphaba said, "but she didn't say I wasn't pregnant."

"But… how can you be pregnant and NOT have a child?" Glinda whined.

"Well, it's possible that she expects me to abort"-Elphaba cringed at the thought-"or that I miscarry or maybe have a stillbirth… But you're right, Glinda. Yackle can't be wrong. I'm convinced of that much. I'm not having a child."

Glinda's face twisted. "It's not supposed to happen this way!" She cried. "I was supposed to help!"

"Glinda, you did help," Elphaba soothed. "But life has the annoying habit of throwing things at you when you least expect it."

"What are you going to do? What are _we_ going to do?"

Elphaba feign calmness. "Well… I suppose I have to talk to Fiyero about this, don't I? Things just keep getting better…"

Fiyero picked Elphaba up for dinner that evening.

"Hello, beautiful." He pecked her on the lips. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," she answered. She threw a backward glance to Glinda, who sat on the edge of her bed, forcing an encouraging smile.

"See you both later, then," she called from her spot, and Elphaba closed the door.

"Something's wrong." Fiyero said firmly. "I know it." He held her gaze steadily. "You can't tell me that everything's fine when Glinda isn't perky. Is it about Glinda or you?"

"It's me," she sighed. _As usual._

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"Yero… not here."

Fiyero nodded, solemnly and took her hand in his. "Where…?"

"Somewhere private. And we might want to skip dinner tonight."

They ended up in an empty classroom. Elphaba sat slumped on a desk and Fiyero stood in front of her holding her hands.

"What is it?" he asked. He lifted her chin to make her look at him.

"I…"-she cleared her throat nervously- "I think I'm pregnant." Fiyero stared at her incredulously.

"But the fortuneteller…"

"I know," she shot back, but there was no intensity behind it, "She said that I wouldn't have a child, not that I didn't conceive."

"But if you're pregnant, how will we _not_ have a child? A fetus doesn't just disappear on someone, does it?" he tried to reason.

"That's the thing. I think that somehow, the baby dies. No… I _know_ the baby dies. Whether it's on my terms, or if it's natural, I don't know," she explained.

"You're not going to abort, are you?"

"No!" she said quickly. It surprised her how naturally and powerfully she answered the question. It wasn't like she wanted to be pregnant. Fiyero softened.

"You don't want the baby to die, do you? Even for all the trouble it might cause?"

Elphaba's face twisted and she shook her head. The tears came with the realization that despite not wanting to be pregnant, she still wanted the child now that it existed. It _was _hers after all, and Fiyero's. Fiyero hugged Elphaba to him, letting her release the feelings she usually kept pent up inside. As he rubbed her back, he whispered to her: "I don't want it to die either."

* * *

Umm... Reviews are happy-making. A special thanks to my only two reviewers last chapter: **CrystalClearElphaba444 **and** stringofpearls.** Hopefully this addition was enjoyable... (I don't quite remember where/if "Purple" does come in anywhere...) 

**e.r.**


	17. 017 Brown

O-tay... this chapter... ohh, this chapter. I hate this chapter. It upsets me. Anyhow...

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**017. Brown**

Another painful month went by and Elphaba still didn't get her cycles. She was without a doubt pregnant and she was increasingly tired. School was wearing her out with exams around the corner (even though, for her, 'around the corner' meant months from now), and she still awaited the unavoidable death of her unborn child. Despite the unwavering support from Fiyero, Glinda, and Boq, the situation still felt like a dead-weight that seemed to get heavier and heavier as time wore on.

"Elphie," Glinda said to her one day, "I don't think you should go to classes today. You look terrible and you need sleep."

"I need to go to class. I can't fall behind," Elphaba argued. For a brief moment, a look of pain flashed across her face and she swayed on her feet.

"Are you okay?" Glinda asked. "Tell the truth."

"It's nothing, Glinda. It's only a stomach ache, nothing to worry ab--"

"Where does it hurt? Describe the pain." Glinda cut her off. Elphaba motioned vaguely to her lower stomach.

"It's not terrible, really," Elphaba assured her. She was lying, of course.

"Has your back been hurting or anything like that lately?" Glinda placed her hand on Elphaba's forehead and compared it to her own. _She's a little warm…_ Elphaba just observed the blonde as if she were crazy.

"Nothing to make a big de--"

"Yes or no!" Glinda yelled at her. Elphaba was taken aback.

"…Yes, but—"

"You're not going to classes today," Glinda told her. "And neither am I. We're staying here."

"Give me a good reason besides that 'I need sleep'," Elphaba countered, folding her arms across her chest.

Glinda looked solemn. "Sit down." Elphaba did.

"I think you're going to miscarry."

Elphaba remained silent.

"I think you should go to the bathroom and check for any blood," Glinda advised quietly. Elphaba nodded and did as she was told. Lo and behold, she was bleeding. She couldn't believe that she didn't feel the blood there before. She suddenly felt ten times sicker than she did before. She cleaned herself off as best she could and rejoined Glinda in the main room, deadpan.

"So?"

Elphaba shook her head. "Tell Fiyero that we can stop worrying. It's over." Glinda's eyes welled up with tears for her friend.

"I'm sorry…" Glinda offered, "I…I'll tell him now, then." Glinda left and Elphaba disappeared into the bathroom again. Her 'stomach ache' was worsening by the second. It was as if now that she knew what was going on, her body decided to speed up the process. She was bleeding heavily, she felt. She grabbed a large bottle of oil and set it near the toilet. Then, she just sat, her eyes squeezed shut, willing the world away.

What felt like hours later, Fiyero and Glinda burst into the room. Despite her partially unclothed state, Fiyero rushed to Elphaba's side, stroking her hair.

"Fiyero, go to class." Elphaba's voice was muffled by her hands. "There's nothing to see here."

"I'm not going to leave you like this. It's _my_ fault… you shouldn't have to suffer alone."

"It's not your fault. It takes two to tango, Yero." She took her head out of her hands to look into his worried blue eyes. "Whose notes am I going to copy if you're not in class, huh?" she joked.

"Boq's," Fiyero answered seriously.

"Fiyero, please just go to class," she pleaded. "Please."

"But I—Alright," he conceded, "But I'm coming back."

Fiyero returned, true to his word. For the last few hours, Elphaba had been experiencing what he could only imagine were contractions. Her body would seize, each of her muscles would tighten. There was an expression of pain that would flash briefly across her features; she seemed to be sweating from the effort of keeping her face blank, though it could have been caused by the contractions or the fever that she was keeping. He hated that he couldn't do anything to ease her pain. She didn't cry. She refused to cry. Instead, she bit her lip so hard that it bled. Glinda had to leave the room.

"I'll be right back," Fiyero told Elphaba. He followed Glinda to the bedroom portion of the dorm. She was crying.

"How can you stand to see her like that?" her voice cracked.

"I can't," he admitted, "but she needs me—and you—right now, so I'm there for her. Please come back. I don't know what to say to her. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now. You're a girl. You get it better than I do."

Glinda sniffed. "Alright. I'll go back. For Elphie." She composed herself as best she could and returned to the bathroom with Fiyero. Her composure didn't last long.

A few hours later, the bleeding stopped. Elphaba forced Fiyero and Glinda out of the room so she could clean up. She washed herself off with oil as best she could in her worn state. She went to flush the bloody toilet and saw grey-ish purple clumps floating in the mess. She felt like would vomit, seeing the red-brown water and tissue spin down the drain. She turned quickly out of the bathroom and let herself collapse on her bed facedown.

"Are you alright?" Fiyero asked.

"Physically, it feels like someone stuck rods vertically through my spinal cord and made me run a few miles uphill while being punched in the stomach," she muttered. She flinched when Fiyero rested his hands on her back and lifted the bottom of her shirt. He began kneading her sore muscles and she relaxed.

"What about emotionally?" Glinda wondered softly.

"I'm not sure. I know I'm not happy about it. I'm just not sure how unhappy I am."

"Fair enough. If you start feeling really bad, promise you'll tell someone?"

"Sure…" Elphaba responded tiredly. She was in the realm between sleep and consciousness.

"But sleep now. It's been a rough day," Fiyero told her. His mind screamed at him, 'it's been a _rough day'?? That's an understatement if I've EVER heard one._

"Stay?" she murmured.

He kissed her temple. "Of course."

* * *

...sigh Depressing.

Anyway, thanks to my AWESOME reviewers. You make me smile.

E.R.


	18. 018 Black

**Ohh look... Back from the dead. Who knew? Just a warning-actually, you know this-: I update slower than molasses. I like to have a few chapters done before I post more... These chapters, for some reason, take forever. But since this one is really short and kinda... blech... I'll try really hard to get the next one (also kind blech, sorry) up tomorrow.  
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**018. Black**

Elphaba didn't go to class the next day. She, normally a light sleeper, slept through her alarm and Glinda didn't make an effort to wake her up. Today wouldn't be a good day; she could feel it. She didn't bother with make-up and merely ran a brush through her hair. She picked out a simple, black outfit for the day. Today was a day of mourning. This would be her silent tribute to Elphaba's and Fiyero's child.

She saw Boq and Fiyero in the courtyard and walked towards them. Boq was trying to talk to Fiyero, but Fiyero kept shrugging him off. He disappeared just as Glinda arrived.

"What's wrong with Fiyero? He hasn't anything since yesterday," Boq asked her.

Glinda stared at him with watery blue eyes. "Elphaba… she miscarried yesterday."

Boq's eyes widened. "No!... I mean… I was expecting it, we all were…but I guess it never really hit me, and now… Oz…"

"I know."

"So that's why none of you were in class yesterday?"

Glinda nodded and Boq put a loving arm around her. She buried her face in his shoulder.

"Elphaba's okay, though, right?"

"I hope so," came the muffled reply.

"Elphaba?" Fiyero called softly through the door. He knocked. "Elphaba?" There was no response.

Fiyero knelt down and lifted the mat that was outside of their door and found what he was looking for. A spare key. In the back of his mind he thought that the hiding place was a bit unimaginative for Elphaba, but he shoved that thought away. He opened the door slowly.

"Elphaba?" he called again, quietly. His eyes fell on her bed where there was a lump of pillows and blankets. Out of the lump fell a green hand. Fiyero closed the door quietly behind him and knelt beside her bed.

She was asleep. She looked calm, but she didn't wear the subconscious smile that she had the last time he'd seen her asleep. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her brow and kissed her forehead. She stirred briefly before settling once more and Fiyero brought over a chair and made himself comfortable. He couldn't go to class today. He wouldn't be able to pay attention with Elphaba as she was. He carefully twined his hand with hers and eventually he fell asleep.

In the late morning, Elphaba awoke, groggy and hazy-minded. She opened her eyes to find Fiyero situated awkwardly, half-sitting in a chair and half-sprawled on her bed.

"Yero?" she called hoarsely. Fiyero sprang from his slumber.

"I wasn't sleeping, Professor!" he exclaimed. Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh… I'm not in class, that's right," he thought aloud. "How are you feeling?"

"Why _aren't_ you in class?" Elphaba asked him, ignoring his question.

"I wanted to be with you," he said simply, "Now, how are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "I've been better… Oz, it's just…" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"What?"

"I knew I was going to lose him, I _knew_, but it still hurts," she told him, "I'm so stupid! I got attached…and I really wanted him."

Fiyero could tell she was at her wits end with the whole ordeal. She was emotionally scarred, though she'd never admit it. He moved to sit next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her

"I wanted the baby, too, Fae. I did," he admitted.

"Him," Elphaba corrected automatically.

"Huh?"

"The baby was going to be a boy," she tried to explain, "Glinda got this notion in my head that it was going to be a boy and after a while, I got the same feeling. I know he was going to be a boy."

"Him, then. I wanted him also."

"We tossed around names, me and Glinda." Elphaba laughed in spite of herself. "Can you imagine? I was near poster material for some Crazed Mother-To-Be Club."

Fiyero smiled. At least she hadn't lost her sense of humor.

"What did you come up with?"

"Liirun"

"I like it. It's a beautiful name," he told her, "You would have made a wonderful mother, Fae."

Elphaba looked skeptical.

"You told me about home, and how you took care of your sister, it's hard not to see you as a mother," he elaborated. "And you're so passionate about everything you care about."

Elphaba looked appreciatively at him. "Thank you," she said, "That really means a lot, even now."

Fiyero kissed her forehead. "Anytime."

When Glinda returned after classes, she saw Fiyero and Elphaba in Elphaba's bed sleeping chastely. She smiled at how sweet they looked together. Elphaba had her head on Fiyero's chest and Fiyero with his arms draped around her. Their colorful hands were loosely intertwined. And she knew, then, that they'd make it through this tragedy. They'd make it through anything.

* * *

And... that's a wrap. Hope you liked it at least a little! (P.S. I'm still a review-whore.)

E.R.


	19. 019 White

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Here we go...

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**019. White**

"Elphie?" Glinda asked one afternoon in their dorm.

Elphaba grunted in response. She was reading an essay stating a theory on the connection between Animals and humans. She, still reading, groped blindly about her bedside table for the apple she'd nicked from the cafeteria. Locating it, she took a large bite.

"Do you think you and Fiyero will ever get married?"

Elphaba choked on the bit of apple she was eating. "What?"

Glinda rolled her eyes. "It's a simple question. I mean, you've been through so much together already, more than a lot of _married _couples. So, do you think you'll get married?" she repeated.

Elphaba set down the essay and examined her apple. "I… don't know."

"Well, if Fiyero proposed, what would you say?" Glinda prodded.

Elphaba smirked. "That depends on my mood at the moment."

"Elphie!"

"What? What do you think I should say if he asks me?"

"I think you should scream 'Yes!' at the top of your lungs and cry because you're so overjoyed," Glinda said matter-of-factly. "Then you can do… other stuff."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Glinda harrumphed. "Will you say yes or no?"

"Yes. Why the sudden interest in marriage?"

"Because Boq and I are getting married."

Elphaba's jaw dropped. "Boq, our sweet, meek little Boq, proposed already?"

"Well… he doesn't know yet," Glinda said hurriedly, "But the _point_ is, we're getting married. I have a feeling."

"Oh?" Elphaba said, suddenly slightly interested, "And when will this happen?"

"In a few years." A smile spread on Glinda's face and she looked far away. "We're going to have a spring wedding. And we'll have a white and pale blue color scheme. And I'm going to have a beautiful, elegant, white dress with lace around the bodice… It will be beautiful!"

"I'm afraid I won't fit your color scheme, Glinda," Elphaba joked. "But you'll always be able to find me in the audience."

Glinda looked puzzled. "In the audience? What would you be doing there?"

"What, I'm not invited to the wedding?"

"NO! You're the maid of honor, silly!" Glinda paused for a moment. "OH! Or we could have a double wedding! Oh, Elphie, you'd look so pretty in a white dress."

"I might have to disagree with that."

Glinda shook her head. "One day, you're going to wear a white wedding gown and everyone will tell you how beautiful you look."

Elphaba rolled her eyes and picked up her essay again.

"And Fiyero won't be able to keep his hands off of you," she added with a wry smile.

Elphaba threw the essay at her.

* * *

**Right... So that's that.. Now I need to go on a writing spree before I feel ready to post anything else. I'm pretty sure I have a gigantic chapter coming up... We'll see.**

**Please review. I love hearing your thoughts on everything. **

** E.R.  
**


	20. 020 Colorless

So...It's been a while, eh? Few months... You've probably all given up on me! (Knock on wood) I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm sorry. I have issues with continuing ideas. It takes forever for me to figure out what in the world I'm trying to accomplish. I never have a concrete idea. (Okay, I did ONCE, but 1: I've not posted it, and 2: I lost my train of thought and I have to recollect my thoughts.) Anyway, the point is, I have about as much of an idea of what's going to happen next as you do. Acutally the point is, I'm terribly sorry and if you're still reading this killer author's note, Kumbricia bless you. You have the patience of a saint.

Hope you like it.

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**020. Colorless**

"Fiyero?" Elphaba poked him. They were in the library studying for middle-of-term exams.

"Ow. What is it?"

"Do you see the librarian at the desk?" she asked, pointing over his shoulder.

Fiyero looked in the direction she was pointing. The librarian, an elderly lady with large, thick glasses, was looking at a distance through a magnifying glass trying to make out some fine print. She kept adjusting the distance of the lens from the page.

"Looks like she need a stronger prescription," he noted, turning back to Elphaba.

"Right," she said, "But she already has glasses. The magnifying glass is helping her see the letters even larger. What if we used smaller, thicker lenses and rigged them so that we could see tissue samples and compare them?"

Fiyero thought about it for a moment. "How would we see through the tissue?"

She picked up a sheet of paper with writing on it and placed it upside down in front of him. "Tell me what the paper says without turning the sheet over."

Fiyero squinted, trying to make out the letters. "I can't."

"Now pick it up and hold it to the light," she instructed. He did.

"I can see them now," he told her. "So what you're saying is as long as our samples are thin enough and we have a light source, we'll be able to see the samples?"

"That's what I hope."

Fiyero smiled excitedly. "Elphaba, you are a genius."

She blushed slightly. "Thank her," she mumbled, pointing to the librarian.

"Elphie? Fiyero?" a high-pitched voice called, "Are you in here?"

The librarian shushed Glinda, who just now located them.

"I've been looking all over for you!" she said breathlessly.

Elphaba looked concerned. "What's going on?"

Glinda thrust a newspaper in her face. She grabbed it from her and read.

"You're kidding," she muttered angrily.

"What is it?" Fiyero asked.

"My dear father has decided, as Governor of Munchkinland, to declare Animals unemployable," she spat, "as an ally to the Wizard."

"No!"

Elphaba stood up angrily. "I have to go." She grabbed her things and stormed out of the library, her skirts flying behind her.

* * *

Elphaba marched to a little known part of the campus and into a large building. She stomped down a wide hall and knocked loudly on one of the doors. There was no answer.

"Nessarose Thropp! Open up!" She yelled. The door finally swung open to reveal a young woman in a wheelchair.

"Elphaba," she said icily. "What brings you here?"

"I think you know," Elphaba said challengingly, "but in case you're confused, it has to do with Father's decision to un-employ all of the Animals in Munchkinland."

"Oh, that." Nessarose yawned.

"Yes, _that_," Elphaba hissed. "I suppose you had something to do with that, didn't you?"

Nessa frowned. "What if I did? It's not like the Animals are important. They're filthy and dull!"

"Did you have anything to do with it or not?" Elphaba demanded.

"I had _everything_ to do with it," she said harshly. "You were sent here to _take care_ of me!"

"And this is supposed to justify your decision to let Father to deprive the Animals of jobs?" Elphaba screamed. "Because I haven't been waiting on you hand and foot? You're in a part of Shiz made especially for people with handicaps such as yours. Why do you still need my help? I'm not your slave anymore, Nessa!"

"I haven't seen you in weeks! You haven't even checked up on me!" Nessa argued, "I spent years keeping Father from keeping the Animals out of work for you, and how do you repay me? You ignore me!"

"I gave up my childhood for you, I took care you of you from the day you were born, I made sure you did well in school so that you could be here, and I've only ever asked you to keep Father from doing this to the Animals. The moment I turn my attention away from you for a chance to really live, you take the comfort of knowing that Munchkinland is safe from Animal prejudice away from me," Elphaba fumed. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes," her sister snapped at her.

"I'm glad," Elphaba said grudgingly. "Don't expect me to ever check up on you again. And if you do anything to jeopardize anything I do ever again, I swear, I'll make sure you regret it. I love you, Nessa, for some reason, but I've had enough."

Nessa glared at her. "I'll be governess of Munchkinland one day. We'll see who has the last laugh, sister dearest."

Elphaba clenched her jaw. "Goodnight, Nessarose," she said through her teeth, "And good luck on your exams." She turned on her heel and began to walk away.

From her doorway, Nessa called spitefully after her, "By the way, happy birthday tomorrow, you ugly frog!" And she slammed the door.

* * *

Upon returning to her dorm, she found Fiyero, Glinda, and Boq discussing her disappearance.

"Where did you go?" Fiyero asked, standing up to hug her.

"I was visiting my sister," she told him, hugging him back.

"You have a sister? I didn't know that." Glinda said. "Did I?"

"Probably not. I don't often talk about my family. We don't get along," she explained.

Boq spoke up, "Nessarose, right?"

Elphaba nodded. "That's right! You would remember her. She had that scary obsession with you as a child."

Boq groaned. "If she weren't the Governor's daughter, I'd have told her off."

"So, why did you go talk to your sister?" Fiyero asked. He'd heard a little about Nessarose from Elphaba, but only that she was handicapped and that Elphaba had to take care of her.

"When we were younger, I made her promise to keep my father from doing anything that would affect the Animals negatively," she explained.

"Why did she go back on her promise?"

"Because I wasn't playing servant to her anymore," she explained, "and I haven't visited her since I miscarried."

"Does she go to Shiz?" Glinda wondered.

"Yes. She's handicapped, so she goes to a different part of Shiz so that things are closer and easier for her to access. That's why you haven't seen her."

"Oh," was the collective response.

"You know what? I'm getting a bit of a headache. I'm going to get some fresh air," Elphaba told them.

"I'll go with you," Fiyero offered. Elphaba nodded appreciatively.

"Bye!" Glinda called, "Don't come back too late!"

When the door closed behind them, Glinda turned to Boq. "Oz, I thought they'd never leave," she sighed. Boq smiled at her and brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"And why did you want them to leave?"

"So we could do this." She kissed him deeply. "For a while."

* * *

"So basically your sister is evil, right?" Fiyero questioned.

"She's just used to getting her way."

"Why is it that you don't get along?"

Elphaba shook her head. "For her, it was like monkey see, monkey do. She wanted so much to be normal, so she picked up teasing me and calling me names… all of that. Then she realized that she could get me to do anything she said because she was my father's favorite. She thought it was fun, I thought differently."

"So this goes way back… wow. I'd think that your own sister would empathize and treat you well."

"Surprise," Elphaba said sarcastically.

Nobody said anything for a while.

"You know what I'd like?" Fiyero asked, completely out of the blue.

"What?"

"I'd like the world to be black and white for a day."

"Why is that?"

"Because everything would be colorless," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Wouldn't things be a bit boring that way?"

"Not for you. Think about it: everything would be colorless!"

"I'd be colorless," Elphaba finally realized. "I'd fit in. No one would stare, no one would whisper about me… I'd look normal."

Fiyero smiled. "And we could go places without you wearing a hood or a scarf over your face. We could do that now, if you'd just give it a chance."

"You know how I feel about people staring."

"Right. That's why I want the world to be colorless: so you can be as confident about your appearance as I am about it. I, for one, love your skin."

"Why is it that you know exactly what to say to make me feel better?"

"Maybe because I pay attention to how you feel," he said, "or because I love you. I love you in all of your emerald glory."

Elphaba, even though he'd said it before, was shocked by his words. But she was more pleased than shocked. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Thinking back on the conversation she'd had with Glinda before, she was now certain that, if he asked, she would more than willingly walk down the aisle with this man.

* * *

Hmm... the italics and bold buttons aren't working...

Right... so someone mentioned WAY earlier that my chapter titles often have nothing to do with the content... and I'd like to own up to that. It's true. I'm trying to follow the prompts, but... it's actually kind of difficult. If it bothers you, my apologies. If not, sweet.

Please review. Even if it's to tell me that I'm a terrible person for never updating anything I write or to tell me that my plots are stupid or nonexistant... whatever. Let me know that you readers exist!!


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